Join the Comfort Station and friends in an exploration of home and community through spoken word! Calling Home features some of Chicago’s finest poets and prosaists sharing and exploring their varied experiences and memories of the communities that shape them with the community they are helping to build. An accompaniment to Edra Soto’s La Casa de Todos installation, this evening of poetic license aims for reflection and the celebration of the moments and artifacts that create what we call home.
Curated by Aunty Calhoun, the event featuring readings by Sarah Peecher, June Wilson, Siera Carpenter, Christie Valentin-Bati, Julián Martinez, and Harlem West.
Sarah Peecher (she/her) is a poet living and working in Chicago. She was a Nathan Breitling Poetry Fellow and the recipient of an MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia College Chicago. She teaches undergraduate writing and has been an editorial team member for several local publications—most recently, Unwoven Literary Magazine. Along with her educational and editorial work, she has curated work for Off the Page, a literary arts zine and exhibition, and hosts Juxtapose, a podcast of art pairings. Her poems can be found in The Lincoln Review, Anti-Heroin Chic, Bluestem and more, and her latest manuscript was a semi-finalist for the New Delta Review chapbook contest. She lives with her husband, Eli, and their two cats, Rumpus and Ruckus. You can find her @sarahpeecher.
June Wilson lives in Chicago. She does poetry & performance art with friends, strangers, and enemies. You can find some of her stuff online at Vierges Online.
Christie Valentin-Bati is a poet first, a photographer second, and somewhat of a musician under that.
Julián Martinez (he/him) is the son of Mexican and Cuban immigrants and is from Waukegan, Illinois. He is the author of the poetry chapbook This Place Is Covered Head to Toe in Shit (Ghost City Press, 2024). His work has been published in HAD, Hooligan Mag, Little Engines, and elsewhere. Find him online @martinezfjulian or martinezfjulian.com, or IRL in Chicago.
Harlem West is a poet, archivist, and house head from 87th and Cottage. They write to remember their dead. They mix to recall lives prior revealed in dreams and such. Their work has been published in APOGEE, Chicago Reader, and their Gigi’s living room.
Siera Carpenter (she/her) is a poet and yoga teacher from Chicago, whose self proclaimed purpose is expressing herself through language and movement. Her poems can be found in literary journals like Allium, Black Minds Mag, Masks, and 30 north. Her mantra: “My art is my heart—and through this transparency, I find that it resonates with a lot of people.” When she is not scribbling in her notes app or swinging around a pole, you can find her laughing with friends on a patio or cuddling with her cat. Find more from her @shesweetmagnolia and @feelourspace.
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An initiative of the Terra Foundation for American Art in partnership with artists and organizations across the city, Art Design Chicago is a series of events and exhibitions that highlight the city’s artistic heritage and creative communities.
